Bonsall students make the grade

Bonsall Union School District students have made visible
improvements on statewide standardized tests, according to scores
released Monday by the California Department of Education.

But Rainbow's Vallecitos school district saw some declines in
its scores.

Educators said the results can show how effective schools have
been with instruction and educational programs.

Bonsall schools superintendent Jef Schleiger said he was pleased
with the results overall on the standardized tests.

"While we still have room to improve, I am very proud of the
achievement levels of our students and the support provided to them
by our teachers and administrators," Schleiger said. "Our scores
remain strong, and the district is committed to continuing
improvement."

Most of Bonsall's seventh-grade students attend Norm Sullivan
Middle School. There, 65 percent of seventh-graders tested were
reading and writing at or above grade level -- an increase from 45
percent a year ago. And 46 percent of Sullivan's seventh-graders
are doing math at or above grade level, compared to 37 percent last
year.

Most of Bonsall's fourth-grade students attend Bonsall
Elementary School. According to the results, 61 percent of those
students tested are reading at or above grade level -- a jump from
56 percent in 2003.

But there was a slight drop in the math results among the
elementary school's fourth-graders, with 55 percent of its
fourth-graders doing math at or above grade level compared to 58
percent in the previous year.

Schleiger said he was also pleased with the California High
School Exit Exam results of its high school students from its
charter academy. Students must pass this test in order to
graduate.

"We are pleased that our charter high school, Bonsall Charter
Academy of Learning, posted results well over the county average --
81 percent of BCAL students passed the math portion and 96 percent
passed the English-Language Arts portion," Schleiger said. The
academy is a sixth- through 12-grade school of about 150
students.

In Rainbow, Vallecitos Elementary District Superintendent Paul
Cartas said he was pleased with the improvements in this year's
scores compared to last year's scores in his district. However,
Cartas said he is contemplating why some scores have decreased.
Vallecitos has only one school in its district, a kindergarten
through sixth-grade elementary in Rainbow.

In Vallecitos' district, 49 percent of its fourth-graders tested
were reading and writing at or above grade level. It's less than
half, but more than last year's result of 38 percent.

"About 50 to 60 percent of our students entering kindergarten do
not speak English," he said. "With 49 percent of our fourth graders
reading at or above their grade level, that means those
kindergarteners who did not even know English became proficient in
a relatively short amount of time. So, we do have some good, solid
programs."

In math, about 52 percent of Vallecitos' fourth-graders are
working at or above grade level. About 48 percent were working at
or above grade level last year.

However, there has been a slump in scores among Vallecitos'
seventh-graders. According to the latest results, 34 percent of the
seventh-graders are reading and writing at or above grade level --
a decrease from 69 percent in 2003. And 28 percent of the
seventh-graders are doing math at or above grade level, compared to
58 percent in 2003.